Digital Storyboard: The Boy Scout

The initial pass took a one week spring break to write, thumbnail and complete. I consider it my first real storyboard attempt, and am glad to have FINALLY found some time to overhaul it.

Now, on to the next one...

Going Digital

So my tablet PC came in. Lately I'm not much of a painter, so this development helps me out a LOT. The final should be completely redrawn.

I did one with cool shade, one with really warm shade, and one where Jackie is the only saturated character in the room.

R.I.P. Imagi Studios...

I was informed a few days ago that Imagi Animation Studios, the force behind TMNT and Astro Boy, has shut down their US studio, and is pretty much dead in the water. They actually broke this news, officially, in January. This comes as highly disappointing for me, as I'm not the only one who saw great potential in what those guys were trying to achieve. That team really had heart, and it showed in the projects they chose to adapt. Anyway, they tried. Despite all their flaws, and despite all those who laughed at their setbacks, they tried something new and risky.

So anyways, now that the studio sank, we're seeing a lot of production materials come out of the woodwork, that were only heard of years back. At least I finally get to see the famous "Gatchaman sizzle-reel" Kevin Munroe directed back in 06'. Felix Ip mentioned that the designs were far from finished, and the main feature was the raw stylized action. Also in the works WAS a "T-28" feature, better known as "Gigantor" to American audiences. It's a cryin' shame...

Disney Inspire Days

What a weird dream. A flight down to Burbank, seminars, tours, a portfolio review and a flight back, followed by a disoriented blackout...

ANYWAYS, I got to see one of my idols in person, Mr. Bruce Smith, doing a demo of Dr. Facilier. He'll be supervising Piglet in the upcoming Winnie the Pooh movie. The mouse folks also showed us a TON of footage from "Tangled", formerly "Rapunzel". Also I saw vis dev artist, Lorelay Bove, whom I've been aware of since her CalArts years. Definitely a success story.

On to the portfolio review (Storyboard)...I don't think they liked a single thing about my portfolio... Resume, boards, life drawings, WAITWAIT! They DID like my honking-expensive and exhaustively designed presentation prints, though I've recently been informed I'd have gotten the same reaction had I encased my work in eggo waffles. Yeeeaaaahhhh... At least they were nice about it! I also designed a final "Splash!" page, but it has images that haven't quite been cleared for blogging yet. Not that it mattered.

Specifically, They said my work was more suited for television due to the tight pencil work, on-model drawing (I was "on-model"...?) and "generic" poses. That's not terrible news, as I would like nothing more than to succeed in TV boarding. The thing is all the TV artists I admire COULD work in features if they wanted, but CHOSE to be their toon-watching selves. I want to be in the same boat. Basically, for features I should hold off on that last clean-up pass. Aaaand use a dang mirror, for once. I'll post those as soon as I figure out how to post PDF's...

Also, I should practice copying compositions from live-action films on pause. I already study film, but will definitely admit I didn't think of that. Another critique was that, when choosing sequences, I should think in terms of different genres, rather than just different sequences. Great point. 'Just wish I had thought of it before shelling out the dough at Staples...I wonder if I can write this crap off on my taxes...

My figure drawing didn't raise many eyebrows either. I was told they lacked personality and exaggeration. I'm guessing they were looking more for this variety. Fair enough. Currently, I've just been trying to improve my general drawing skills, and wasn't giving much thought to "design". My character design class has me doing that though. Give me a few months! I'll have this thing up to speed, yet!

"Penguin's Christmas"

I don't really have a drawing for you guys. Instead, I'll share a short film I found years ago. It became one of my all time favorite holiday-themed animations. The theme music and minimalist art style are infectious, and I hope you like it. This is "Penguin's Christmas", produced by Animation Works.

Happy Holidays.

Working on something...

A new banner for a new point in my life. And no, there are no perspective errors! My head has always been that freakishly big, and that putty in the front is abnormally tall. He was born that way and is very self-conscious, so how dare you.

The pretty line quality and tonal patterns will happen in the final stages. *sigh* When I think of what the coming semester is gonna' do to me, I almost want to change the blog title to "Brian Sydnor and the Deathly Hallows" (hmm...nah, The Dumpster's fine.). I'm expecting WAR, and I'm not going in unprepared.

Third Eye Blind's "Ursa Major" is a perfectly solid album, in case you're wondering. I thank them for the unexpected support.

Just one big pressure point...

There are actually TWO ways to make someone simultaneously explode. 1: spend your entire life studying the deadly art of Hokuto Shin-Ken. 2: Just have Trini press on the giant "Z" *rimshot*.

Yyyyyep. 'Harder than it looks to get those interesting angles. Might as well start now. Trini's right fist is far too big for the effect. And the left leg is a little muscular. Those'll change in the tracing process.

Updates & Old Friends

Okay so I found out that Photoshop Elements does NOT have a pen tool. That sucks. But either way, Elements is a great program. I even revamped some designs from my freshman year of art school to experiment on... I guess we'll see if I can pull it off in Anime Studio.

And that's another thing! Anime Studio's controls seem to be a world and three moons apart from Flash. This is strange, considering the animation it produces is essentially Flash anyway. It'll take way longer than expected to find and "decode" all those Flash-esque controls so it can work for me.

As for the drawings, those familiar with "Roundhead and Pointy" may notice I messed with the floating eyebrows and chest letters. The thick outlines were for the vectorization attempt. If you look at them from afar, it doesn't look as much like a horrible idea...

There's always something to do in the summer!!

I put together a basic plan for the summer, as I do for all my intersessions. I'll mainly be chippin' away at it during any spare time where my pals don't come callin' with another "get-rich-quick" scheme. Goodness knows I'm up for an entertaining 22 minutes of comic hi-jinx!

Step 1: Continue Netflixing and studying the recommended films from "The Visual Story"

Step 2: Aquire a copy of "Cartoon Animation", and do some master copies so I can channel the likes of Mark Christiansen and John K. in my own junk.

Step 3: Aquire a copy of "Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know", and read that bad boy up.

Step 4: Experiment with Anime Studio Pro, and see if I can do any substantial filmmaking with the software

Step 5: Experiment with this photoshop technique

Step 6: Drink beer and play Mario Kart DS all day

Step 7: Disregard steps 1 through 5

Story Test: Complete + GITS 2: Innocence DVD

Story test is complete. and it only cost me a weeks worth of HW. Ah well. Just tryin' to show 'em what my best looks like. Massive show-and-tell post to come. ANYWAYS...

On a side note, after 5 long years, Bandai has finally granted me the pimped out re-release of Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence. GitS is one of my all-time favorite anime franchises. And I can tell by a lot of the professionals' blogs, I'm not alone. Go to your local retailers and check it out!


before...

...AFTER!



("Ghost in the Shell" is property of Bandai Visual , in partnership with GoFish Productions)

BREAKING NEWS!!! Well, not that "breaking"...

Anyone seen this yet? Someone went through quite a bit of trouble...It's kind of cool how, after this dude clearly made his point, he has fun with it through the editing. I saw the Jungle Book/ Robin Hood thing coming a mile away btw.

Ressemblances dans les films Disney - Video humour

Wondercon Recap

This WonderCon was admittedly milder/smaller than many of the recent ones I've attended, but I was fortunate enough to stumble onto some amazing experiences. I met a bunch of AAU freshmen at the con and hope to see them again in the halls (a half-sane 5th year senior...best. representative. ever.) . Above are a few of the autographed thingies I picked up.

Thank you to all the industry professionals (i think the entire story teams of Pixar and Dreamworks were scattered about the exhibit floor lol) who took the time out to let me pick their brains (And thanks for the pep-talk, Mr. Balistreri). You may never remember me, but I'll never forget the gesture. It was more than worth buying the merchandise which I've yet to fully enjoy, and it was arguably worth the panic attack I suffered at the sight of my bank account. Also, a big shout-out to my myspace pal, Steph Laberis, who I ran by serendipidously.

I went to not 1 but 2 backstage signings, a first and second ever for me. One was for "Sit Down, Shut Up", where I met the likes of Kenan Thompson, Henry Winkler, and Will Arnett. The other was for "Spectactual Spider-Man". I decided to go to that instead of the "Up" panel and was rewarded handsomely for 'keepin' it real'. I had plenty of time to hang with the Spidey crew, including character designer, Cheeks Galloway! I saw the animated Wonder Woman, but had to give up my ticket to the Watchmen screening to a friend who was staying in SF (i couldn't miss the last BART train).

I also went to the panel for "League of Super Evil" which had a modest turnout. No matter, since when we ended early, the exec. producer, Asaph Fipke came down from the podium and rewarded 3 of us with an brief 3-on-1 micro-clinic on breaking into cartoon writing, making a proper pitch document and his insights regarding the animation market in Canada and the US (thanks again, man. awesome stuff.).

I also managed to bring back some manga swag for my young buddies at the TKD school, as usual ;).

The fate of AAU's Pixar Class

I remember talking with one of my fellow students in clothed figure drawing about the Pixar class. She was the first to inform me that it is now as dead as Circuit City. I just found an article on the Spline Doctors (many of whom taught at the school) website explaining in detail why it's over, ad well as some great insights and a nice dialogue in the comments section. Check it out.

Academy of Art and the Pixar classes

*sigh* use this URL til' blogger comes to it's senses...

http://splinedoctors.com/2008/12/academy-of-art-and-the-pixar-classes/

Penguin's Christmas: one of my favorite shorts...

It occurred to me to share this well after Christmas, but I think the trip will be well worth it. I found this on a web search and thought it was amazing. "Penguin's Christmas" was produced by a studio in the Netherlands called Animation Works. The short is beyond simple in it's execution. However, it sucked me in with it's basic color choices and music, and delivered with it's story and animation quality. I hope you like it.

Penguin's Christmas

Happy Holidays from The Dumpster!

Yes, through all the shopping, working, and chillin' with friends from far away, I managed to slap something together at the last minute. Whatever religion or tradition, Happy Holidays to you and yours.

(p.s. - Roundhead's supposed to read as Jewish, but since I'm allergic to beat-downs I tried to be tasteful with the costume)

Semester...over...*faint*

Well I'm back from taking my last final exam (and chillin' for a few hours...). Over the weeks to come, I got a book called "Film Directing: Shot by Shot" to kill. Also, my buddies and I will HOPEFULLY be dippin' back into this film project (still holding on to that last shred of hope...).

My new Netflix DVD came in and, holy crap, I actually have time to watch it! So tonight it's me, a bowl of popcorn, and "Wings of Honneamise".

Character Study: Annie Oakley

I got a compliment for these at the library by some female Fashion majors. The one PLEASANT moment in the creation of this study. There's a massive caffeine-crash in my future...

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

AMAZING pilot. Now, I'll add that I've accepted that the original Batman: TAS was a fluke. A combination of hard work and a ton of luck. And I'll always admire Bruce Timm's crew for riding that fluke and changing the entire action cartooning game. Unfortunately, the days of a 50 piece orchestra accompanying your cartoon are pretty much over (unless your name is Seth McFarlane...).

In one short first sequence, the show quickly explained what producer James Tucker had so much trouble explaining without losing fans. This new Batman was less dark and funnier, but kept all the important elements to make it work.

In the pilot, "Rise of the Blue Beetle", Jamie Reyes (one of my new favorite DC characters), finds himself on an unplanned adventure with the worlds greatest crime fighter. By the end of the episode, Jamie learns the superhero business from the master himself, while Batman watches an inexperienced kid become a legendary hero.

The show had about 2 or 3 laugh-out-loud moments, with plenty more cool action sequences and interesting cinematic staging (familiar ground with WB Animation). What's really interesting about this new Bat-entry is the "brush pen" look. The clean-up drawings are given line-weight for the first time in recent memory, to further simulate that "old-skool" Dick Sprang look.

In a sentence, I dug it. Maybe you will too. Check it out on the CN.

Clothed Figure: Annie Oakley

I gotta tell you...a lot, A LOT, A LOT of crap went down between that last post and this one. Without going into detail, pretty much all of it was my fault. We've all been through it; those moments where you're the Chief Idiot in the room. This made it all the more important not to screw this assignment up, if it killed me. I needed to remind myself what I'm capable of.

I rode that feeling all the way to my first "A" in the semester (A-, and proud of it!). Ironically, I had a lot more fun with Ramses, but hey. Of course, even my best work isn't without it's "goofs". As usual, lay those critiques on me!

More Clothed Figure HW

Did them in a week (3+ days). All-nighters were involved. They were met with "mixed reactions" at school. Looking forward to the day when I can look back on this level of turnover and laugh.

Questions/ comments/ critiques welcome.


PS: Imagi Studios (TMNT, Astro Boy, Gatchaman) will be visiting AAU this Thursday (tomorrow), I think at 5pm. I have to work, so if anyone is going, PLEEEEEEASE tell me how it went. TMNT Director, Kevin Munroe really comes off as a passionate guy who seems to want to protect these kinds of properties and give them the treatment fans want. I'd like to work for a guy like that someday.